Kvaratskhelia鈥檚 wonder goal helps PSG beat Aston Villa 3-1 in 1st leg of CL quarterfinals

PSG's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, left, challenges for the ball with Aston Villa's Matty Cash during the Champions League quarterfinal first leg soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa at Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP)
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  • Kvaratskhelia put PSG in front four minutes after the break and left back Nuno Mendes added a third goal in stoppage time with a fine finish of his own

PARIS: A wonder goal from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia upstaged a brilliant curling shot from teammate D茅sir茅 Dou茅 as Paris Saint-Germain beat Aston Villa 3-1 in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday.
After Morgan Rogers gave Villa the lead in the 35th minute, the 19-year-old Dou茅 drew PSG level four minutes later with the 12th goal of his breakthrough season.
Kvaratskhelia put PSG in front four minutes after the break and left back Nuno Mendes added a third goal in stoppage time with a fine finish of his own.
鈥淚 think the result reflects the difference between us and them,鈥� said PSG coach Luis Enrique, whose side has greater firepower and showed more of a threat going forward. 鈥淥ur objective is to keep the ball and be aggressive in attack.鈥�
Kvaratskhelia鈥檚 was the goal of the night.
He sprinted down the left from just over the halfway line and then mesmerized Villa鈥檚 defense in a blizzard of quick feet and superb balance.
Advancing at pace with the ball seemingly glued to his right foot, he then wrong-footed defender Axel Disasi with a sudden change of direction, before rolling the ball onto his left foot in one smooth motion and blasting an unstoppable shot over the head of goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
鈥淔or a coach like me it鈥檚 so great to have a player like him, with his mentality. He scored a brilliant goal,鈥� Luis Enrique said about Kvaratskhelia. 鈥淲e tried to sign him last summer and it didn鈥檛 work out. We signed him (in January) when we didn鈥檛 really expect to. He鈥檚 got everything to be part of our project.鈥�
The return leg is next Tuesday.
In Wednesday鈥檚 other game, five-time champion Barcelona crushed Borussia Dortmund 4-0 with veteran striker Robert Lewandowski scoring twice either side of goals from Raphinha and Lamine Yamal.
Kvaratskhelia belongs in such elite company.
His goal was exactly the kind of effort that earned the flying Georgia winger the nickname 鈥� Kvaradona 鈥� when he was playing for Napoli, in reference to soccer maestro Diego Maradona 鈥� the Italian club鈥檚 greatest ever player 鈥� and prompted PSG coach Luis Enrique to spend 70 million euros (then $72 million) on him in the winter transfer window.
Shortly after Kvaratskhelia鈥檚 goal, Martinez made a great save low to his right against Achraf Hakimi鈥檚 powerful shot as PSG poured forward looking for a third goal.
Villa was at this stage of the competition for the first time since 1983 and dealt well with early pressure before taking the lead with a well-worked goal.
Bustling captain John McGinn won the ball in midfield and advanced before picking out Marcus Rashford, the forward who scored a stoppage-time winner here for Manchester United six years ago. Rashford fed Youri Tielemans overlapping down the left and he pinged a cross to the back post where Rogers was left unmarked to tap in.
The lead was brief as Dou茅 picked up the ball on the left of the penalty area, skipped past two players and curled the ball into the top right corner.
鈥淗e鈥檚 got everything he needs to become a great player,鈥� Luis Enrique said. 鈥淗e really doesn鈥檛 need much space to dribble.鈥�
Martinez played long balls early on to test PSG鈥檚 defense, but he was soon called into action with a flying save from Demb茅l茅鈥檚 angled strike in the eighth minute.
He couldn鈥檛 do much about the goals that beat him, however, with Nuno Mendes showing a forward鈥檚 touch when he latched onto Demb茅l茅鈥檚 pass, cut inside a defender and deftly guided the ball in.
鈥淲e鈥檝e watched their last few games and know how deadly and sharp they鈥檝e been,鈥� Rogers said. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e put the world on notice now.鈥�
But Villa coach Unai Emery believes he can still eliminate the club he coached from 2016-18.
鈥淚 believe we will win next week,鈥� he said. 鈥淰illa Park is our home.鈥�